Instead of creating the image with dd, I followed the suggestion of building the image with "highly recommend" Etcher. I am now able to login as root! Not sure what happened. I am documenting every step of the way in order to make my journey, mistakes and all, available to other "not so savvy" Pinebook users.
How do I install NetBSD directly onto my Pinebook? Do I use sysinst (per https://wiki.netbsd.org/ports/evbarm/install_using_sysinst/)?
Before I "wreck" my Pinebook, do I select ld2 as the drive to partition and install?
=========== MISC DATA ===========
arm64# disklabel ld0
# /dev/rld0:
type: SCSI
disk: STORAGE DEVICE
label: fictitious
flags: removable
bytes/sector: 512
sectors/track: 32
tracks/cylinder: 64
sectors/cylinder: 2048
cylinders: 1641
total sectors: 31116288
rpm: 3600
interleave: 1
trackskew: 0
cylinderskew: 0
headswitch: 0 # microseconds
track-to-track seek: 0 # microseconds
drivedata: 0
8 partitions:
# size offset fstype [fsize bsize cpg/sgs]
a: 30657536 458752 4.2BSD 0 0 0 # (Cyl. 224 - 15193*)
b: 262144 196608 swap # (Cyl. 96 - 223)
c: 31116288 0 unused 0 0 # (Cyl. 0 - 15193*)
d: 31116288 0 unused 0 0 # (Cyl. 0 - 15193*)
e: 163840 32768 MSDOS # (Cyl. 16 - 95)
arm64# disklabel ld2
# /dev/rld2:
type: ld
disk: ld2
label: default label
flags:
bytes/sector: 512
sectors/track: 63
tracks/cylinder: 32
sectors/cylinder: 2016
cylinders: 1040
total sectors: 2097152
rpm: 3600
interleave: 1
trackskew: 0
cylinderskew: 0
headswitch: 0 # microseconds
track-to-track seek: 0 # microseconds
drivedata: 0
3 partitions:
# size offset fstype [fsize bsize cpg/sgs]
a: 2097152 0 4.2BSD 0 0 0 # (Cyl. 0 - 1040*)
c: 2097152 0 4.2BSD 0 0 0 # (Cyl. 0 - 1040*)
disklabel: boot block size 0
disklabel: super block size 0
disklabel: partitions a and c overlap
arm64# gpt show ld0
GPT not found, displaying data from MBR.
start size index contents
0 1 MBR
1 32767 Unused
32768 163840 1 MBR part 12 (active)
196608 262144 Unused
458752 30657536 2 MBR part 169
arm64# gpt show ld2
gpt: /dev/rld2: map entry doesn't fit media: new start + new size < start + size
(1 + 1fffff < a000 + 1d50000)
arm64# dmesg | grep ld
[ 1.000016] axpreg5 at axppmic0: eldo2
[ 2.737735] sdmmc1: autoconfiguration error: couldn't enable card: 60
[ 2.811871] ld2 at sdmmc2: <0x45:0x0100:DF4016:0x00:0xfe875b0b:0x000>
[ 2.811871] ld2: 1024 MB, 1040 cyl, 32 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 2097152 sectors
[ 2.828746] ld0 at sdmmc0: <0x03:0x5344:SS16G:0x80:0x42ce3d51:0x122>
[ 2.848748] ld0: 15193 MB, 7717 cyl, 64 head, 63 sec, 512 bytes/sect x 31116288 sectors
[ 2.848748] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 2.848748] ld2: 8-bit width, 200.000 MHz
[ 2.876482] ld0: 4-bit width, High-Speed/SDR25, 50.000 MHz
[ 7.617842] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 7.627841] boot device: ld0
[ 7.627841] root on ld0a dumps on ld0b
[ 424.699875] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 424.709875] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 431.049997] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 431.059997] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 431.059997] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 431.149999] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 442.320213] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 746.325984] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 746.335984] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1592.422047] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1592.422047] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1679.653695] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1679.673697] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1684.513788] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1684.513788] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1684.563793] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1684.583793] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1684.583793] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1761.785290] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1778.945617] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
[ 1993.819664] ld2: mbr partition exceeds disk size
arm64# mount
/dev/ld0a on / type ffs (noatime, local)
/dev/ld0e on /boot type msdos (local)
kernfs on /kern type kernfs (local)
ptyfs on /dev/pts type ptyfs (local)
procfs on /proc type procfs (local)
tmpfs on /var/shm type tmpfs (local)
# sysinst
========================================
What kind of system do you have?
a: Raspberry PI
b: Other
========================================
NetBSD/evbarm 8.99.39
This menu-driven tool is designed to help you install NetBSD to a hard disk, or upgrade an existing
NetBSD system, with a minimum of work.
In the following menus type the reference letter (a, b, c, ...) to select an item, or type
CTRL+N/CTRL+P to select the next/previous item.
The arrow keys and Page-up/Page-down may also work.
Activate the current selection from the menu by typing the enter key.
If you booted from a floppy, you may now remove the disk.
Thank you for using NetBSD!
NetBSD-8.99.39 Install System
a: Install NetBSD to hard disk
b: Upgrade NetBSD on a hard disk
c: Re-install sets or install additional sets
d: Reboot the computer
e: Utility menu
f: Config menu
x: Exit Install System
========================================
On which disk do you want to install NetBSD?
┌──────────────────────────┐
│ Available disks │
│ │
│>a: ld2 │
│ b: Extended partitioning │
│ x: Exit │
└──────────────────────────┘
========================================
I do not see ld0.
On 5/14/19, 8:59 AM, "Ron Georgia" <netverbs%gmail.com@localhost> wrote:
I just received my new 1080P 11inch (27.94 cm) Pinebook. It was pre-loaded with Ubuntu and KDE. While I like KDE, it seems a bit heavy. Ubuntu is ... ok, but I would rather have NetBSD and LXDE or Mate. I attempted to install NetBSD but ran into some problems. Most likely due to my incomplete understanding (see tag line below).
1. I downloaded the Pinebook image (NetBSD-evbarm-aarch64-201905120950Z-pinebook.img) from https://www.invisible.ca/arm/
2. dd the image to my microSD card.
3. Inserted the micro SD into the SD slot of the Pinebook and booted.
The first boot ended in a ==> prompt. Not sure what that was all about.
Reboot produced the NetBSD "arm" boot processes; however, there was a problem. When presented with the login prompt I tried to type "root" but the right side of the keyboard acts like a number pad. Pressing "o" gives me the escape sequence for a "6" without the numlock engaged. Pressing shift "o" gets me a capital O while Fn + o gets me a "6."
Questions:
1. Is there a way to make the keyboard a standard keyboard?
2. Once booted, now do I "reflash" the internal drive to boot NetBSD without having to boot from the micro SD card?
Ron Georgia
“90% of my problems are due to ignorance, the other 10% is because I just don’t know any better.”